God is so good

Just simply thinking on the fact that my Lord is 

so wonderful... 

so gracious... 

and...

so good!

~~~

Our biggest problem...Ahem, MY biggest problem

"Our biggest problem... is not the environment in which we have been reared, it is not the evil that has been done to us by others; it is not the limitations that we feel so acutely. Our biggest problem is a heart that wants its own way in opposition to God's way."     ~Jim Berg, Changed into His Image, pp 34-35

Ouch! That hits it doesn't it? I know it does for me. I would love to blame all that is wrong and/or painful in this life on others but the fact is.... my greatest struggle is the one in my heart. The fact that I want or think I need something that is in opposition to what I know God wants for me. And I know if I am walking closely with Christ, those problems which seem to propel me towards disobedience won't seem so large. If my focus is on Him... not my problems.. I CAN, in the midst of those troubles, have joy! 

Look with me for a few moments at the following pictures. 

In this first picture is a pseudo scorpion.

Pretty impressive, huh? 

And when you consider that this fine fellow was in my bathtub... well.. that thought can be downright frightening!

Now, look closely at this next photo, please:

In this photo is my guinea pig, Bea, and the pseudo scorpion.

He doesn't look quite so scary now does he? 

Our problems can be a bit like that pseudo scorpion. When I focus on my problems, they seem huge!! They can be frightening-- horribly so. BUT, if I put those problems in the proper perspective, remembering Who is in control and that He is with me, loving me... they won't seem so horrible any longer.

Oh, that I would FULLY grasp this in my heart!



.

Let the children play...

Think with me for a moment back to your childhood..... do you remember long summer days hanging out at home, playing with your friends? I do.

I remember....

Making mud pies

           I remember feeding them to my dog. She was just a tiny little beagle. Her name was Tiny as a matter of fact. And for whatever reason, that dog would eat a mud pie! I had more fun with that little dog. 

Swimming in the river

Yes, we actually swam in the river. There were bloodsuckers in there, fish and snapping turtles and somehow we managed to have a fantastic time!! This was a favorite pastime of the summer.  I remember when I was junior high age, the swimming hole in the river down behind my house became the "hot spot" to swim and hang out in one summer (for a few weeks anyway, until my Dad put a stop to it.) I remember the awesome time I had that few weeks as even much older teens would come and swim! It was party central and I loved it!

Riding bikes

How many miles did I ride on bikes as a child and teenager? I would ride round and round in the the driveway and go around the neighborhood. As a teenager, I would go for much longer bike rides and even enjoyed riding bikes with my boys when they were young.

Playing with the little boy next door

We did "nothing" most days and were always getting into trouble for it! I remember when I was about 7 he felt I should learn how to drive. He was an expert driver at the ripe old age of 6. We got in a little old Datsun his parents had and he drove it around out back of his parents' property. Then it was my turn. I was SO scared but pretty thrilled too and promptly drove that car right into the side of their barn! (He was always my protector. He quickly had us change seats so that he got in trouble for it - not me. He was my hero!)

 Adventures

A friend and I actually spent one whole afternoon when I was around 11 years old looking for the end of the rainbow. Yeah, it was a great adventure! I have no idea how far my friend and I walked... we kept thinking we were getting closer and we were anxious to see if there actually was a pot of gold waiting for us! Eventually, the rainbow disappeared and we had to walk back home through the fields and woods having procured no gold! But we had a great time just the same.

Swinging

As a young child I remember well the thrill of swinging on a small swing, and as a preteen teen I remember I would sit in a lounge type swing, where I would swing and read for hours.

These are just some of the memories of summertime from my childhood. Do you remember any of these? Remember the looonnngg hours of summer, how great it was? Days just filled with playing outside and one little adventure after another.

My own two sons spent most of their childhoods right here at home. We would go once a week or so and visit friends and or go to a park but most of their lives as young children were spent right here on our 5 acres. They built forts, played with friends, played with their cars in the dirt (do children do this anymore??), ran under the sprinkler, read books, had picnics, rode bikes, tried to fly (yeah, really!), investigated ant hills, got dirty, used their imaginations.....

Sadly now, I read more and more that children do not play. They must be given activities to do. Where has imagination gone Mommas???

Let the children play... 

let them have the freedom to get dirty and have an adventure! 

They will only be children for a short time... 

the land of make-believe only exists for us for a few short years... 

don't let them miss it...

~~~~~~~
 For ideas for outdoor play visit the   Outdoor Play Blog Hop 

God provides even the small desires of our hearts

My story first begins about 45 days ago, when I first began visiting greenhouses for the year. I had been wanting to buy some portulaca to put in my flower bed along my driveway. Sadly, I have been unable to find any in my area to purchase. I was at a bit of a loss of what to put in this flower bed. It really needed something along with the perennials and the few petunias I had purchased. Working out in it a few days ago, I was a bit discouraged. In my mind, portulaca would be the only plant that would achieve the look I wanted.

Once again I must go back a few weeks in time.... deciding to try something new with my pumpkins this year, I decided to put them in pots. I found several old pots in my shed I could use for this. One of the pots, I hadn't used in a few years and it still had old soil in it. For no particular reason, I didn't plant any pumpkins in it. Instead I set this pot beside my front door and began watering the soil in prep for whatever plant(s) I would put in it eventually.

A few weeks went bye and I still watered the pot and thought about what to put in it. This is unusual for me. I usually like to have something "cute" by my front door to display flowers in this time of the year. This plain plastic pot with nothing but old dirt in it is not cute. However, each day I felt the need to water it and just leave it alone.

A few days ago, as I was going outside, I noticed something had begun to grow in this pot. Initially I assumed it was just weeds, whose seeds would have blown in this spring as the pot sat there. It had been so long since I had planted anything in this pot, it did not occur to me that there could actually be any viable seeds laying dormant in it from plants that were once planted in it. Taking a closer look, I was both surprised and thrilled to realize it was portulaca growing in this pot! The very plant I had been looking for and was unable to find!

Isn't that exciting? God has given me these small little desires of my heart... I am rejoicing today in this tiny little blessing that God has given to me. They look so small but to me they mean so MUCH. I can not help but think how much my God loves me each time I walk out my front door!

All you have to do is call...

All you have to do is call.... And you know wherever I am....
I'll come running to see you.




I mean it... :)

All I need??

"Each day as I spend time in His presence, let this thought be with me: Christ is all."

~Andrew Murray

Wow.  That is a powerful statement.

 “Christ is all.” 

I have often thought that if I could fully grasp that concept, so much of what I think I need or want in this life wouldn’t really matter.


 

“Christ is all.”

HE is everything.

All I want… 

all I desire…

all I dream about… 

all I NEED…. 

Christ is ALL. 

Oh, that this would be true of me! 
 ~That He would do a mighty work in me, so that I would be able to say..


He is all.

Goals for Summer 2011 Planning Chart

 After reading the summer goals of several bloggers, I have decided to make up a list of goals for myself this summer. I made a simple little goal planner to use and thought others might enjoy using it as well. 

(Just click on the link below - it should open right up for you.)

Summer 2011 Goals Planner

God bless,

~Penni

I know for a fact Rosie O'Donnell would not approve... But hey, Ted Nugent would and he is MUCH cooler....

Firearms.

Handguns,

pistols,

rifles,

shotguns,

etc. 

Oooo!

Even the words THRILL me!

My recent desire for, and enjoyment of guns, surprises even me. After all, I am one of those women who loves to bake...  I like to garden, -you know, veggies, herbs, and pretty flowers. I wear skirts a lot and never go anywhere without make-up on. I get excited over cute shoes and I think babies and little children are so very sweet. I like to write, do research, and read. Most people consider me to be a quiet, seriously-minded woman. (Oh, how little they know me... hehehe.) So... Guns? Seems a little out of character for me.


I got my first little taste for shooting at a youth group leader's house as a teenager. I was a dismal failure at it. I remember I landed on my tush and had a sore shoulder for over a week. I didn't have another opportunity to shoot again until last fall when my youngest son taught me how to shoot a .22 rifle. Shortly thereafter, a friend showed me her .22 pistol....

oh my...

that was it...

I couldn't stop thinking about them. I NEEDED a handgun of my very own.  For Christmas, I received a 9mm. Woot! Woot!

Recently, I took an handgun safety course and FINALLY got to fire Bertha. (She is a mean looking girl, I had to give her a tough name! ~smile)

Need I say it?  I have found a new obsession...

I just love the feel of firing a gun. It is like a power rush!  And, I hope you don't think I'm TOO weird but....I absolutely love the smell of gun powder.


Yeah, I'm sure Ms. O'Donnell would NOT approve. I'm sure she would give me a stern lecture and try to convince all the...              bees....                   to boycott....       my garden....

but that is just fine with me. 

After all, 

Ted Nugent is much cooler than she is.

My long-time companion, prayer buddy, and teacher...

Today is Thankful Thursday at Grace Alone...

 I am thankful for MUCH today but when I sat down to think of exactly what I wanted to post about, one thing above all others came to my mind.

It is brown (my favorite color).... 

but that isn't why I'm thankful for it.

It is a book (Oooo, how I love books!)....

but that isn't why I'm thankful for it.

It has a leather cover (soft buttery leather)....

but that isn't why I'm thankful for it. 

I am so very thankful for it because it is the Word of God. 

 My long-time companion, prayer buddy, and teacher... I am so very thankful for the Word of God. His VERY Word to US. So precious. So wonderful.  

 We've spent a lot of time together over the years and have shared a lot of tears.... It looks as though I have abused it but it is just worn with love.

I have a newer Bible I bought approx. 7 years ago, I have enjoyed my time in it as well (mostly - sometimes = Ouch!) and it looks so much nicer. But this is the one I return to the most, it is quite worn, many pages are stained with tears, the pages are thin in spots and several pages are held in with tape. I have many little scribbled notes in it, and odd little stars and symbols marking passages that are especially precious to me. I am sure that most anyone who has seen it would find it quite ugly....

yet, it is so beautiful to me. 

I am thankful for this wonderful book. I received this copy when I was 16 and it has never let me down. 

I am so thankful I have God's own Word to read... 

may I never take it for granted...

How Great Thou Art

It is nearly impossible for me to hear this song without weeping...

It is more than just a song... 

it is a prayer of praise for me to my God. 

He is so GREAT... 

sending HIS Son to die for MY sins...

imagine Someone without sin taking my ugly sins on Himself...

to die that I might have life... 

have it full and free... 

Wouldn't you sing along with me??

How Great Thou Art

by Mr. Carl Gustaf Boberg 

"O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; (He has made all this beauty for us!)
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then SINGS my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; (so unbelievable, so wonderful!)
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin. (He took away my sin!!)

Then sings my soul, (yes! It does!) My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,(At His feet, I am so undeserving.. yet because of Christ I may come to Him!)
And then proclaim: "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!"

Do YOU know Him?? Do YOU know how GREAT He is? Listen to Him calling YOU....

Unfulfilled Desire

“If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world”  

~C. S. Lewis

"But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:4-6

My Garden Journal

How could such sweet and wholesome hours be reckoned but in herbs and flowers? ~Andrew Marvell


Gardening.

I love it.
It is so much fun! Yup, really.

We plant a seed in the soil, water it, it sprouts, and produces food for us.

How cool is that??

I love to pull weeds and hoe.(I know, there must be something wrong with me!) What fun it is keeping my garden looking good and growing strong. I get a lot of satisfaction pulling those little weeds out of there! And it is a great chance to play in the dirt. Fun, fun, fun!

How awesome to think that we plant, we water, and God gives the increase! 


I am amazed and thrilled every time I see a little plant popping up through the soil where I had placed a seed.

Along with the actual gardening, I also enjoy keeping a garden journal.

Here are a few pages:

It is basically just a record of what I plant, when, and where, and how well it produces.  ~~Please ignore the messy penmanship!

I add in some poetry and quotes for fun.

"All my hurts my garden spade can heal. A woodland walk, a quest of river grapes, a mocking thrush, a wild rose, a rock-loving columbine, salve my worst wounds." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is only my third year keeping a garden journal and I have found it very helpful to look back over the past 2 years and see what grew well and what didn't.

The roses fauld their silken leaves,
The foxglove shuts its bell;
The honeysuckle and the birk
Spread fragrance through the dell.
Let others crowd the giddy court
Of mirth and revelry. 
The simple joys that nature yields
Are dearer far to me. 
~Robert Tannahill

Plans for this year..... 
"The best is yet to be." ~Robert Browning

What's better than being outdoors?